The Bodyguard Meets the Avengers
by FireStallion
Summary: Blissful marriage and a healthy baby were all they were concerned about. Now with a vengeful demigod on the loose and an impending alien army invasion, Tony must step it up and join the Avengers to protect his home and family. There's only one problem: no one ever said anything about his pregnant wife coming along. On hiatus until December. Read profile for more info.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

"Good to go on this end. The rest is up to you," Tony said as he came jetting out of the bay. The last interrupter had been attached to the power lines, and now it was time for the moment of truth.

"You disconnected to transmission lines? Are we off the grid?" Pepper asked over the radio in that worried tone of hers. He always found it amusing how she always liked to question and double check everything he did.

"Stark Tower is about to become a beacon of self-sustaining, clean energy," he replied proudly. The project had been under construction for just over a year now, and he was more than eager to see it completed.

"That's assuming the arc reactor takes over and actually works," JC chimed in.

"I assume," he said confidently. "Light her up, honey." He turned down the street that led up to Stark Tower as the building's lights started turn on starting from the bottom and progressively made it to the top, the large 'Stark' sign at the top being the last thing to come to life.

"How does it look, honey?"

"Like Christmas but with more…me."

He could hear JC snickering on the other end. He had to admit though, watching it light up was like watching the Christmas tree turned on for the first time: beautiful. Though, it had nothing on the person waiting for him inside. She was like the present beneath the tree. Except, she was inside the tree in this case. That thought just started to confuse him.

"We've gotta to go wider with the public awareness campaign. You need to do some Press," Pepper said, starting to babble a bit which brought him out of his Christmas thoughts. The project had been her baby, which made her probably the most excited person between the three of them.

"She's right, Tony. This thing could put the company back in the spotlight as a good thing for a change," JC added.

"You two are killing me. The moment, remember? Enjoy the moment," he chided as he came up to his landing pad and set himself down.

"Then get in here, and I will," JC flirted. Tony didn't even try to restrain his smirk. She knew exactly how to turn him on.

"Sir, Agent Coulson of S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the line," JARVIS chimed. Perfect way to kill the moment.

"I'm not in," Tony said as he started walking down the walkway that served as the assembly line for his armor. "I'm actually out," he said as the last piece was taken off his body.

"Sir, I'm afraid he's insisting."

"Grow a spine, JARVIS. I got a date." He continued inside to his personal area of Stark Tower which was more like a home away from home. It had everything that he, JC, and Darren would need to stay in New York for the foreseeable future. Now came the next step in his plan: tell JC about the plan. Thus far he had only hinted at the top floors of the Tower to be a temporary home for business trips and such. He had yet to tell her about how permanent he intended on making it.

JC was by his work area looking over the building schematics where energy levels were being shown. To the side was also the video feed from D.C. where Pepper was currently working.

"I'll be back in a few days and we can celebrate then. I know you're supposed to be taking it easy right now, but if you could just make sure he actually gets in front of the Press, that would be great," Pepper said through the holographic screen.

"Pepper, I'm pregnant, not an invalid. I'm more than capable of making sure his butt gets in front a few cameras."

"I thought we were discouraging me putting my butt in front cameras anymore," Tony teased as he came up behind JC and wrapped his arms around her.

"Very funny, Tony," Pepper commented dryly. "I'll see you two soon."

"Bye, Pepper," JC said and the video went blank. "Well, it looks like levels are holding steady. I think, anyways. I don't really know how to read this thing."

"Don't worry. They are. I was directly involved. Which brings me to my next order of business," he said as he tossed his ear piece on the table and turned her to face him. "Hello, wife," he said and kissed her tenderly. She returned his kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulled him closer.

"Hello, hubby," she said softly when they finally pulled away.

"That's never gonna get old," he mused.

"What is?"

"Me calling you my wife," he said with a smile.

She giggled at him and pulled gently on his goatee. "You are so strange sometimes."

"You know you couldn't love me, if I wasn't. Oh! I almost forgot the most important person," he said and got down on one knee. "Hello, baby," he cooed and kissed JC's belly, which had only just started to get round. He was surprised she wasn't showing more since she was nearly six months pregnant, but she said not to worry, that there would be plenty more of her to love very soon. Granted, she had been wearing clothing that would hide her baby bump fairly well for awhile, but it certainly wouldn't be able to hide it forever.

"You know the baby can't actually hear you, right?" she said with a smile as she ran her fingers playfully through his hair.

"Of course he can. He has very developed senses," he said in a mock serious tone.

"If she can hear anything, it sounds more like Charlie Brown's teacher than actual words."

"Shh, don't listen to her," he said, quickly covering her stomach with his hands as if trying to keep the baby from hearing. "You shouldn't call our son a 'she'. You're just going to confuse him."

"For all you know, the baby is a girl, Tony."

"Nope. I know for a fact that there is a little boy in here," he insisted as he rubbed her belly. "You know you're a boy, don't you?" he asked and put his ear to her stomach. He pulled away with a triumphant, "Uh huh. He says he's a boy."

"When this baby comes out as a girl, you are going to eat your words," she teased.

"And when he comes out a boy, you are going to have to admit I was right and you were wrong," he countered.

They had been having this argument almost since they had found out that she was pregnant. They could easily learn the gender of the baby now, but they both agreed that they wanted to be surprised. Tony had wanted a boy, a natural fatherly want. He could teach him how to fix things, go a few rounds with him in the ring, if JC let him, and do all those other father/son things. JC wanted a girl since, as she put it, had already gone through the joys and horrors of raising a son. Tony almost feared having a girl. One week out of every month he was going to have to go through hell with her hormones going even more out of whack than JC's were now. Then there was drama and boys, and God forbid what boy would try to date any daughter of his. Honestly, he'd be happy with either boy or girl…but he was definitely leaning more toward a boy.

"That'll happen when pigs learn how to sprout wings and fly."

"I'm sure I could manage to figure out how to make that possible. Just let me go down to my new lab and–"

"You are doing no such thing," she protested and pulled him to his feet. "Remember the moment? We're supposed to be enjoying it."

"Oh, I am," he said with a smirk. "So, how does it feel to be a genius?"

"I wouldn't know, now would I?"

"What do you mean? All of this came from you and Pepper."

"No, it didn't. All of this came from that," she said, pointing to the reactor in his chest.

"Give yourselves some credit. You two deserve at least…twenty percent," he reasoned.

"Only twenty percent? I'm pretty sure Pepper contributed a lot more than ten percent."

"Actually, she gets about twelve. You get eight," he corrected.

"Only eight? I know I wasn't in on the project from the absolute beginning, but I've been part of it since I started working for you, which covers all the time spent on construction and then some."

"Yeah, but this thing has been Pepper's baby. So really she deserves closer to fifteen percent." He immediately regretted his last statement when he saw JC cock her brow disapprovingly. "Well, I did do all the heavy lifting. Literally, I lifted heavy things. Pepper just did all the thinking and the planning. And you were like her assistant with that, so it really is fair." She responded by crossing her arms over her chest and cocked her brow further, if that was even possible. He cringed. "I'm gonna pay for this in some subtle way later, aren't I?"

"Not gonna be that subtle. Remember that bed you wanted to sleep in tonight? That's slowly going out the door," she threatened as she walked toward the living room area where a glass of champagne and apple cider were waiting.

"As I recall, some of our finest moments were on a couch," he teased as he tried to think of something that would get him back on her good side. With the way her hormones were swinging, she was likely to lock him out of their room and really make him sleep on the couch.

"Who said you'd get a couch? You get to sleep on the floor," she clarified.

"C'mon, honey," he moaned as he wrapped his arms around her from behind and started trailing kisses down her neck and shoulder. "You're gorgeous, you're loving, you're wonderful, you're merciful, you're compassionate, you're amazing. I don't deserve you. Am I getting warm yet?"

"I suppose I'll forgive you for now," she sighed with a smirk. "Come on, the drinks are getting warm," she said and led him to the couch.

"Great idea," he agreed as he grabbed the glasses and handed the cider over to JC. "A toast," he offered and held up his glass. "To our new home."

"What are you talking about?" she asked skeptically as she touched her glass to his warily.

Tony quickly guzzled down his liquid courage before looking at her again. It was now or never, and never was not an option. "Well, Stark Tower is kind of a big deal, and I'm gonna have to be here for awhile doing PR and research and that sort of thing. So instead of doing a horrible commute back and forth, I figured we all just move here," he explained, rushing the last part as quickly as possible.

Her face went stern and a scowl took over her features. This wasn't a good sign. He knew he should have known better than to try keeping his plan a secret from an emotionally erratic pregnant woman, but he was pretty sure that no matter what moment he chose to broach the subject, she would still be angry. The pregnant part just made her temper more fierce than usual.

"When exactly did you decide on this?" she asked levelly.

"A long time ago, actually. Why else would I include a baby floor upstairs and Darren's room above that?"

"We agreed that Darren's 'room'–if you can even call that a room since it's the size of a small house–was because he's going to go to college here in New York, and we agreed we'd rather him not stay in the dorms. We also agreed the baby's room was for if we ever had to bring the kid for a few days. You didn't mention anything about this being a permanent move. When were you planning on telling me any of this?" she growled.

"Right now," he admitted hesitantly. Tony cringed ready to receive her full wrath when JARVIS interrupted.

"Sir, the telephone. I'm afraid my protocols are being overridden."

"Stark, we need to talk," came Coulson's voice over speaker phone. Tony pulled out the transparent rectangle to see a picture of Coulson's face on the holographic screen.

"Now is not a good time, Coulson."

"This is urgent."

"Pretty sure my situation is more urgent," he hissed through gritted teeth.

The elevator then opened to reveal Coulson inside. So much for having good security. Just one more thing he hated about S.H.I.E.L.D. agents: they had the worst timing and always found a way in.

"Mr. Stark," Coulson greeted as he crossed the threshold.

"Phil, come in," JC said only half sincerely as she stood and walked to him.

"Phil? His first name is Agent," Tony quipped, unable to resist the urge to make fun of the man, as he followed JC.

"I can't stay."

"Please, join the party. We were just celebrating," she said, sarcasm dripping off every word as she glared at Tony.

"Which is why he can't stay, dear," he said with a false smile.

There was an uncomfortable silence as Phil stared warily at them, completely clueless as to what was really going on, yet nervous that he was about to be pulled into something he really didn't want to. This was not the time to resolve their argument. Of all the times Coulson could have chosen to barge in on his life, this was probably the worst so far.

"We need you to look this over as soon as possible," he said awkwardly and held out a tablet to Tony.

Tony stared at it like it was a snake. "I don't like being handed things."

"Give it here," JC said tersely and took the tablet from Coulson. She then shoved it at Tony, hitting his chest, giving him no choice but to take it.

He let out a groan and rubbed his chest where she had hit him. "You know, official consulting hours are between 8 and 5 every other Thursday," he lied. Urgent business or not, getting back on JC's good side was a little more important to him at the moment.

"This isn't a consultation," Phil said a little more confidently.

"Is this about the Avengers?" JC asked. Coulson gave her a look that said you-aren't-supposed-to-know-that-so-why-do-you-know-about-it? "Which I know nothing about," she quickly amended, but it was too late.

"The Avengers Initiative was scrapped, I thought. And I don't even qualify," Tony said as he started to assemble the tablet and took it over to his desk to upload it.

"I didn't know that either," JC added unconvincingly.

"Apparently I'm volatile, self-obsessed, didn't play well with others," he clarified, positive that she would appreciate most, if not all, of those adjectives.

"That I do know," she said with a glare.

"This isn't about personality profiles anymore," Coulson said.

"Whatever," Tony shrugged. "Honey, come here for a sec."

"What?" she ground out when she approached his desk.

"Just let me get rid of him so we can get back to our discussion," he said in a low voice.

"Oh, we're discussing it now, are we? I thought that you had already decided what you plan on doing with my family," she said curtly.

"_Your_ family? Last I checked, this was_ my_ family, too. I'm trying to do something good for _our_ family, and you're making me out to be the bad guy. And since when is he Phil?" he asked, chewing on the name.

"First off, you're being stupid about it. You don't just make split second decisions like that. And second, what the hell does it matter if I call him Phil? It's his name. Get over it. What is this anyway?" she asked trying to change subject.

He looked down at the tablet to see that it had connected with his system. "This is, uh," he mumbled as he took control of the images on screen and spread them out to his other screens, "this." On each screen was the files kept on three other candidates for the Avengers Initiative. He recognized one clearly as Bruce Banner a.k.a. the Hulk. No real explanations needed there. There was another that had been labeled as 'Thor' with a video that Tony recognized from six months ago of something that had been labeled as 'The Destroyer.' It was pretty apt since it had nearly destroyed an entire town with little to stop it. The third one he just couldn't believe. It had said Captain America, and there were some old film clips with it along with a few obviously modern photos, but this was something he would have to see to believe.

"Looks like you're not coming to bed period. You have a lot of homework to do," JC said as she stared at the screens. Judging by the look on her face she understood the gravity of the situation. Of course she did. This was his wife he was talking about. There were few things that got past her, pregnant or not.

"Look, JC, about moving here–"

"Save it," she interrupted. "We'll talk more about that later. Work hard," she said and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Phil, let me walk you down," she offered and led him back to the elevator.

They started talking about Coulson's cellist girlfriend who had moved back to Portland, but Tony was hardly paying attention. Among the dossiers was also notes about something called the Teseract. Along with it was a picture of a cube and various notes scribbled beside it. Tony grabbed the holographic projection and held it in his hand for a moment. His mind started racing as he compared this new information with notes from his father's journals. Howard Stark had to have seen this before, because from what Tony could tell, this was the same energy that was now running his heart. Now things were getting interesting.

* * *

After the elevator descended a few floors JC hit the stop button. Agent Coulson looked at her bewildered for a moment as she stared him down.

"Okay, Coulson, I want to know exactly what's going on," she demanded.

"Everything you need to know is in the file I just gave your husband," he said by way of explanation.

"Don't think I don't see what you're doing," she accused, jabbing a finger at him. "This is a recruitment scam. I know you didn't come right out and say it, because Tony would never go for it, if you asked nicely. So you're dangling a little carrot in front of him to whet his appetite. I'm not stupid. I want in."

She knew the moment Phil walked in the room that something was seriously wrong. Tony never would have recognized it, but she saw the look in his eye. It was the look only a soldier knew, the look that shit had hit the fan and everything was going to hell very soon, but nobody else needed to know. Yet. Phil wasn't really a soldier, but he was pretty close in her eyes.

"Are you sure that would be wise in your current condition? I hardly think your husband would approve."

"Yeah, well, my husband is not the boss of me," she said with a scowl.

"Clearly," he said with that small not-quite-a-smirk smile.

"Listen, Coulson, you owe me. I saved your life back in Istanbul when I could have just left you behind like you asked. I'm calling in your debt. You're going to bring me along on this, and you're not going to say a word of this to my husband. Understood?"

He just stood there, his smirk turning into a smile. "And here I thought you'd never ask."

"What?" she said dumbly as she stared at him in bewilderment. It only took another moment for her to realize just what he had done. "Oh, you're getting clever, Coulson. You're entire visit was a scam. You wanted both of us."

"Your husband will be an asset to the team. However, all those colorful adjectives he mentioned weren't false. That's where you come in. You're the only one who might be able to keep him in check. There's a car waiting for you downstairs that will take you to a pilot who knows to expect you. He'll have everything you need. Any other questions?"

"Fury actually asked for me to come along?" she asked skeptically.

"Not entirely."

She smirked at him. "Phil, you are outdoing yourself on sneakiness. Looks like you've learned a thing or two since Turkey. I'm impressed. But aren't you coming with me to wherever this pilot will be taking me?"

"I have another stop to make on the way. We'll see you on the ship," he said and released the stop button.

"Ship? You mean we're going out on a boat?"

"Not exactly. You'll see soon enough."

His words were confusing, but she didn't question him. He was letting her come along on a mission that Tony would never allow. For now, that was reason enough for her to trust him. Then a thought crossed her mind. She was going to have to give Tony a pretty good reason for being gone until he found out the truth. If he learned about it too soon, he would definitely stop her. She wasn't about to allow that.

"JARVIS, I need you to leave a message for Tony. Tell him I've gone back to California, that I need some space for awhile. Tell him I don't want him to follow me. He has more important things to worry about right now," she ordered.

"Deceiving Mr. Stark, are we, ma'am?" the AI retorted.

"Yes, JARVIS, and if you give him any hints otherwise, I will personally reprogram you in any way that I can possibly imagine. Your mainframe will never be the same," she threatened. She was sure that any damage she could possibly do would be easily fixed by either Tony or JARVIS, but that didn't mean she couldn't manage quite a bit of damage. It would take them at least twenty four hours to fix the mess she could create.

"I shudder to think of it," he quipped.

"Just give him the message, JARVIS."

"Understood, ma'am."

"So, when do I get filled in on everything?" she asked Coulson.

"There's a tablet waiting in the car with all the same information I just gave your husband," he explained as the elevator came to a stop at the lobby.

"Well, Coulson, it looks like you've covered everything," she praised as he led her outside. Sure enough, two black government issue vehicles were waiting by the curb for them. "I guess this is the part where I say I'll see you on the ship," she said as he opened the door for one of the cars.

"I'll see you on the ship, Mrs. Stark," he affirmed.

"Oh, and Coulson, do me favor. I'd prefer it if you continued to keep my condition to yourself. Are we clear?"

Thus far she had managed to keep her pregnancy a secret from the public. She was sure that in another month that wouldn't be possible, unless she became a hermit and never left the house; but the key to her success had been to tell as few people as possible. She was beginning to regret her little snafu back at that A.I.M. facility when she had just blurted it out, but that had been one of those moments where you said things like that because they were important and someone was dying, which she thought her now husband was. She didn't think it would come back to bite her quite so hard. If more people at S.H.I.E.L.D. learned about it, they might try sending her back. However, she figured that if she could appease Fury, she could just possibly guarantee herself a spot on the team. That is, until Tony came along.

"Crystal," he replied and shut the door behind her.

* * *

After JC left with Phil, Tony went upstairs to Darren's room to check on the boy. He was sure that he was still playing with all the new toys that came with his room, but there was more that Tony needed to do. Whatever was about to go down, it was going to be big, and he didn't want Darren to be totally in the dark about it.

"Hey, kiddo," he greeted as he entered the room. The room was divided into several different areas. There was a desk area for study, a work bench for doing homework, or just playing around, a gaming area, and a king sized bed at the other end of the room.

"Hey, Tony," Darren said from his spot on the bed. "This is really great. Thanks again for setting this up. It's perfect."

"Well, at least one of you seems to be enjoying the place," Tony mused.

"I take it you finally told her about moving here? I told you not to wait so long," Darren chided.

"Yeah, well, you know me. I never do things like I'm supposed to."

"How mad is she?" Darren asked tentatively. He was all too aware of how dangerous his mother's wrath could be.

"Not really sure yet. She hasn't had the chance to yell yet. Phil interrupted so-"

"Sir, I have a message from your wife," JARVIS interrupted.

"What is it, J?"

"She asked me to inform you that she will be returning to California and requests that you not follow," he recited.

"Did she give a reason?" Tony asked trying to keep his temper in check. This was the last thing he wanted. He wanted to talk things through with her, not have her storm off in a fit.

"Her exact words were that you have more important things to worry about, sir," JARVIS replied.

Whatever anger or irritation he was feeling quickly dissipated. She wasn't leaving to spite him. She was trying to keep herself and the baby safe. Maybe Phil had suggested it. He couldn't be upset at her for that. If she hadn't left now, he probably would have put her on the next flight out himself.

"Thanks, JARVIS."

"What's going on? What things?" Darren asked.

"I don't really know yet. Still going through all the data. Listen, things might get ugly in the near future, and your mother will kill me if I don't do this, but if you get a call that you need to get out, get out," he said in as serious of a tone as he could muster.

"There's more that you're not telling me. What is it? I can take it," Darren said as he stood up from the bed.

Tony knew the boy could handle just about anything. He had been kidnapped and successfully escaped an A.I.M. prison cell by himself. He knew the boy wasn't an idiot, but he didn't want him to get worried too soon. There was still a chance to salvage the situation before things got ugly.

"I don't have the full story yet, and I'm probably jumping the gun a bit. Just trust me, and leave if I tell you to. Okay?"

Darren didn't look happy about the lack of explanation, but he accepted it. Tony just hoped that he wouldn't have to make that call.

* * *

**AN: Hope you guys liked the first chapter. If it wasn't already obvious, this is being set after the main events of The Bodyguard 2 but before the end of the story. I'm gonna try updating this one on a more regular basis like I did withHow They Met****, but with school that's just not a likely scenario. Keep your fingers crossed! Anyway, if you liked it, leave me a review. They always make my day much better :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

JC started reading through the packet that Coulson had left for her. The majority of the information regarding an artifact known as the Teseract was a bit beyond her expertise. From what little she could make out, it was all physics and equations about energy and plenty of other things she didn't understand. Based on the few notes that were written in what she considered English, Dr. Selvig was trying to make a portal using energy from the cube. Thus far, he couldn't do it. A portal had been created to let an alien known as Loki out, but it hadn't been created on Selvig's end. That disturbed her more. It may not have been a stable portal, but if it could be created once, it could potentially be done again.

The rest of the file was filled with information on the profiles she had seen back in the Tower. She had heard plenty on Dr. Banner. There weren't a lot of people who hadn't heard of "The Hulk" or seen the damage he was capable of. After the Harlem incident he had never been seen again. She wasn't surprised that S.H.I.E.L.D. would be able to find him.

Thor was another alien like Loki known as Asgardians. There still wasn't much information on him or Loki except that they had advanced technology that they had yet to understand. After a small town in New Mexico was destroyed six months before, Thor had gone missing through a portal similar to the one Selvig was trying to create. Since there was no word as to his whereabouts and no way to contact him, that ruled him out as a possible team asset.

The final dossier in the file was one that JC still couldn't wrap her mind around. She had heard more than her fair share of stories of Captain America during her military service, but she, like most everyone else she knew, took most of the stories with a grain of salt. One man with the kind of abilities that he was rumored to have sounded more like recruitment propaganda than fact–the numerous ridiculous movies he'd done didn't help him very much–but from this report, the man was not only a true story but a still living one. Not only that, he still looked the same as he had in one of those horrible films she had seen: young, fit, and decently handsome. That seemed nearly impossible until she read that he had been found frozen. The only logical assumption for his survival was flash freezing, which was a miracle by any standard. It was hard to say if he was very lucky or not, though. A man from the '40s trying to fit in during the 21st century couldn't be easy. The odds of any one of his friends or family still being alive were pretty slim. She imagined that had to be pretty lonely.

The car pulled on to the tarmac at the airport and stopped in front of an aircraft that she was unfamiliar with, which was rare for her. The only thing she could say for it was that it had most of the maneuverability of a helicopter but not quite as fast as a jet based on what she could see from the outside.

The bay door was open with a duffel bag lying on the ground by the door. The pilot standing with it was the biggest surprise that Phil could have dropped on her.

"Well, at least you sent me a few postcards while you were missing this time," she said dryly as she approached the pilot.

"Yeah, well, you stopped responding to them. Figured you didn't want to hear from me anymore," he replied just as dryly, his arms crossed over his chest.

"I was busy trying to take care of my family. I was going through some rough stuff. You understand that, right?"

"Almost two years ago you chewed me out for using an excuse like that. Remember?" he pointed out.

"You have a point there," she conceded. "I just have one last question for you."

"Shoot."

"Can I get a hug?" she asked with a small smile.

His features softened into a wide smile of his own. "I thought you'd never ask, Caiden," he said and embraced her warmly.

"God, Carl, I've missed you so much," she breathed as she held him. She hadn't seen him since the day of Tony's presentation in the desert. He'd left her a message that he wouldn't be able to see her for a long time but that he would find a way to stay in touch. He had written a few letters here and there, but when Darren's safety had been threatened, she hadn't written any replies to his messages. She'd lost him after that and had no way of getting in touch with him. He had never said why he had to leave. Now she understood.

"So you took up with S.H.I.E.L.D.?" she asked when she finally pulled herself away.

"Yeah, I did. Been with them for quite awhile. They kept bouncing me around from base to base flying just about everything you can imagine. Are you crying, Caiden?" he asked with a quizzical look.

She touched a hand to her face and felt the tears on her cheek. She hadn't even realized that she was crying. "Looks like it. I didn't expect that," she said with a smile. "I'm just really happy to see you again, Carl."

He stared her up and down for a moment before coming to some obviously disturbing conclusion.

"Oh. My. God. You've gotta be kidding me, Caiden. I thought it was just some joke. Are you serious?" he asked in an almost berating tone.

"And now you've lost me. What are you talking about?"

He looked about as if checking to see that no one was watching or listening in before he leaned in close and whispered, "You are pregnant, aren't you?"

"Coulson actually told you?" she asked, completely taken aback by his statement. It was official: Coulson didn't know how to keep his mouth shut, and she was going to kill him for it.

"Even if he didn't, it wouldn't have been that hard for me to figure out. You might be able to visually hide it, but I can feel that bump. Besides, I was around the last time you were like this. You cried when you usually didn't. You had weird cravings like those chocolate covered onions, though this pudding and pickle thing is a little beyond my level of acceptance when it comes to weirdness. You're glowing, for Christ's sake," he exclaimed, motioning to her. "It's hard not to notice."

She stared at her hands for a moment. No, her skin didn't look like it had any motherly glow to her. Tony had made a mention of it a few days ago, but she just didn't see it.

"I'm not glowing. Hey, wait a sec," she said after she had thoroughly processed what he had said. "How did you know about my pudding and pickles?" she asked with a leery glare. "Not even Pepper knows about that, and that is one of the most impossible things to do."

"Phil gave me the list of things to pack for you," he said, motioning to the duffel on the ground.

That thoroughly miffed her. "Stupid secret agent, spy, whatever the hell Coulson is," she muttered. "He's been keeping tabs on me."

"Pretty sure he's been keeping tabs on that husband of yours. Tidbits of you just happen to pop through. No offense, Caiden, but you're not exactly top priority for S.H.I.E.L.D. Which makes me curious why you're coming without Tony. What's going on?"

"Look, if I asked to go with him, he would have refused," she explained.

"And rightly so," he agreed. "This is going to be dangerous, Caiden. Do you really want to jeopardize yourself like this?"

"I'm a big girl, Carl. Coulson already gave me the green light to come along. You don't know Tony like I do. He does not do teams well. I need to be there to keep him from blowing things up. I mean that in a strictly metaphorical way. All bets are off on keeping him from making a literal explosion."

Carl only looked mildly amused. She knew what she was risking by being there when she was pregnant. She was more worried by what would happen if she didn't go than if she stayed behind. Following orders was never a trait that she associated with Tony. She knew from firsthand experience that you had about five percent chance of him doing what he was told. He had definitely improved over the past few years, but she would swear that there was something in his DNA that programmed him to be obstinate and lean towards the tendency to do what he thought was right, which was rarely good. That would do him no good here.

"Fine," he conceded. "But if he yells at me for bringing you along, I'm gonna say you threatened me."

"That's a total lie."

"True, but he'd believe it. You do have a tendency to threaten people. I remember you did it more often when you were…well, you know," he said awkwardly.

"And just so we're clear, I don't want to hear you saying the 'p' word to anyone else. That is strictly on a need-to-know basis. Got it?" she said sternly. Tony was going to be worried enough for everyone and then some. He had become so overprotective during the last four months it was almost suffocating. It made her wonder if that was how she was when she was on a job.

"Your secret is safe with me. Just hope your husband doesn't go ballistic and blurt everything out," he said as he grabbed her bag and motioned for her to follow him on board.

"Tony doesn't go ballistic. Well, not like a normal person anyway. Honestly, I think he'd be more likely to shoot you for bringing me than argue about how I shouldn't be throwing myself into danger."

"Thanks, Caiden, that's real comforting," he said dryly as he took his seat in the cockpit. "Remind me again why I let you talk me into these things?"

"What things?" she asked as she took the co-pilot seat.

"Oh, you know, the things that get me into the most trouble. Remember that Budapest job five years ago? Oh, wait, what about Shanghai? Any of these ringing any bells for you?" he asked sarcastically.

"Budapest was your own damn fault for not checking the supports. I told you that floor wasn't going to hold," she pointed out as she strapped herself in.

"And Shanghai?"

"If memory serves correct, you were busy ogling some little Chinese woman who you said was, and I quote, 'too pretty for her own good.' Remember that part?" she threw back at him.

"I have no recollection of that," he lied lamely. "Okay, ladies and gentlemen, keep your hands and feet inside the aircraft at all times. We're gonna go for takeoff now."

She smiled at her small victory and his still apparent inability to be one hundred percent serious when he flew. She found that was one of the qualities that made him a better pilot than most. Some others that she'd had the opportunity to fly with took the job a bit too serious which led to more mistakes. He might come off as reckless or lazy at times, but she knew underneath it all that he was always in complete control. However, that didn't stop her fear of crashing whenever he pulled one of his stunts.

She put on her headset and watched as all the screens flared to life before her. She had to admit she was impressed. "So where are we going exactly?"

"You'll see soon enough," Carl answered cryptically.

"That's the same thing Coulson said. Don't tell me they've already converted you into one of their little government puppets."

He smiled and gave a chuckle. "It's a surprise, Caiden. You wouldn't want me to spoil it for you, would you?"

"I find that when it comes to secret agencies, surprises are never a good thing."

"I think you'll appreciate this one. Will you just trust me on this one?"

She conceded with a 'hmph' and settled in for the ride.

"So what do you know exactly about the situation?" she asked after takeoff.

"You probably know more than I do. I'm just a pilot. All my info is on a need-to-know basis. Rumors have been going around, but most people know the gist of the situation: some psychopath from another dimension or something like that is planning some sort of attack, and we have to stop it. No pressure though."

She smirked at him. "Yeah, right. That's what they always say. You hear anything about the recruits for this little team Fury's putting together?"

"Everyone's heard that the Hulk scientist is supposed to be there. Most of them are more excited for the Cap. Can you believe it? All those stories they told us were actually true. I thought he was just some propaganda to sell bonds or get more recruits. Worked out either way, I suppose."

"It's gotta be weird though. I mean, he's like an old man trapped in young guy's body. He doesn't think the same way as we do. Probably still acts like someone from his decade, too. And all his friends have to be dead or so old they wouldn't remember him anymore," she said.

"Probably means you'll be a bright spot for him."

"How do you figure?" she asked quizzically.

"Think about it. He was friends with your husband's father. Seeing that Howard had a happy family and his son is getting a happy family has to mean something to him. Old guys love that sort of thing, the whole happy ending stuff. Plus, you're retired military. He'll appreciate that," he added with a grin.

"There's that, or he doesn't approve of Tony and therefore will have mixed feelings about me. And I got discharged for PTSD. He tried dying to save his country. Pretty sure he did a lot better than me," she said with more than a little self-deprecation.

"You were brave and served your country until you couldn't anymore. That's all he'll care about," he said sympathetically. "And sure, if he's heard anything about Tony, I'm sure he'll think you have a…shall we say, interesting, taste in men, but then again, most people thought you were crazy when you got married to Stark. Guess that's why you're the one for him. You balance out each other's crazy," he said with that sly grin.

She just smiled at him and shook her head. She had definitely missed this a lot more than she would ever admit. It made her sad thinking about how it would end after the situation was over.

About half an hour later JC could see the ship that Coulson had mentioned. So far, she wasn't very impressed.

"This is the big surprise? An aircraft carrier?" she asked dryly.

"Don't judge a book by its cover, Caiden. That little beauty right there has more than a few tricks up her sleeves," he said admiringly as he lined up for his landing.

"What's it gonna do, sprout wings and fly?" she asked sarcastically. "It's just a boat with some fancy planes and cool computers, isn't it?"

"You'll see," he said with a smile and relayed his authorization codes to the agent on the other end of the radio. After a smooth landing, Carl grabbed her duffel bag and showed her inside.

"We'll have to be quick. Coulson and Romanoff should be here any minute, and it'll be a good opportunity for you guys to meet and greet before you have to go see Fury. Can I trust you to behave with Natasha?" he asked with a cocked brow.

"What makes you think I can't behave?"

"You did throw a knife at her face," he pointed out.

"I missed by a mile. It was the least she deserved for screwing around in my husband's life. I don't care if she was ordered to or not," she added with a jabbing finger when she saw him about to protest.

"If you could please refrain from physical violence, that would be most appreciated. Otherwise, I'm sure Fury would have no problem with putting your butt on the first available jet."

She bit back a sarcastic response. He had a point. She wasn't really supposed to be here. Starting a fight with Romanoff wasn't going to help her here. She was grateful for what the agent had done to help rescue her son, but that didn't mean she still wasn't sore about everything else she had managed to do during her time there.

"I'll behave," she groaned.

"There's a good girl." He continued to wind through hallways and up and down several flights of stairs before finally stopping. "Here are your quarters. Think you can find your way back, if you need to?" he asked as he led her inside the small room and set her duffel down on the bed.

Truthfully, she didn't have a clue. She'd had done a few weeks on a carrier years ago when she was still flying with Carl, but she couldn't find her way around the ship then either. There were too many ladders and corridors that she couldn't keep straight since they all looked exactly the same to her. She was more likely to get lost, if she ever decided to go roaming about by herself.

"Yeah, I'll manage," she lied. Carl had more important duties than babysitting her.

"Let's head back up then. They were due to land about five minutes ago, so they should be here by now," he said.

"Oh, joyous," she grumbled.

He gave her a warning look, to which she just rolled her eyes, and followed him back up to the flight deck. The flight crew was busy running about as another aircraft similar to the one that Carl had flown her in on was landing. JC saw Natasha standing not far away waiting for the passengers to disembark. Just looking at the woman made her temper flare up, but JC reminded herself that she had to keep it in check. As long as the spy was civil, so would she be.

Moments later Phil disembarked the aircraft with a familiar face following him: legendary Captain Steve Rogers. JC only caught the end of their conversation as she approached the group.

"Mrs. Stark," Coulson greeted which caused Natasha to turn around. "You remember Agent Romanoff," he said, motioning to the glaring red head. JC gave her an equally malicious glare. She could just barely see out the corner of her eye as Phil cringed away. Even Rogers seemed to take a step back.

"Always a pleasure, Natalie," JC ground out.

"Natasha," Romanoff corrected.

"Don't care."

Their stare down lasted another few seconds until JC heard Carl clear his throat as a warning.

"You must be Captain Rogers," she said and turned her gaze away from the irritating woman.

"Ma'am," Steve greeted with an outstretched hand, still looking a bit hesitant.

She took his hand. "Heard a lot of incredible things about you during my time in the service," she said as she gave him a thorough look-over. "Looks like about half of them are true so far."

"Army?"

"Air Force," she corrected. "Former Lieutenant Alwin."

"Former? You retired so soon?"

"It's one of those long boring stories," she said, not wanting to divulge any more than was necessary. "Trust me, you're not here to listen to my tales of woe."

"Why _are _you here, Mrs. Stark?" Natasha finally asked.

"My husband is a consultant for your little playgroup. I'm here as his liaison," she answered dryly. "He's a bit, shall we say…abrasive. He also tends to babble on in tech speak, which no one understands," she said more to Steve.

"So you're like a translator for him?" Steve asked.

"Essentially, yes. Of course, he's still able to go so deep in techno babble that even I have to tell him to dumb it down for us normal people." That seemed to get a smile out of the man. "When Phil told me he was picking someone else up, he didn't mention that it'd be you. I'll bet he was giddy as a school boy."

"What makes you say that?"

"He didn't mention his trading cards? I couldn't get him to shut up about them, and that was back when he only had two or three of them. I'm surprised he didn't make you sign them immediately," she said.

"Trading cards?" Steve asked with an astonished smile.

"They're vintage. He's very proud," Natasha added.

"Is that Dr. Banner?" JC asked when she noticed a man, who looked to match the picture she had seen, wandering about looking quite nervous.

"Come on. I'll introduce you," Natasha said and led them over.

"What happened to behaving?" Carl whispered in her ear, making sure they kept a few paces behind so the others wouldn't hear.

"I didn't hit her, didn't I?"

"That doesn't really count as behaving. You're here to make sure your husband doesn't screw things up when he gets here. Try not to do it yourself until then."

She grumbled under her breath. The last thing she wanted to do was get along with Natasha. The rational part of her said she'd have to bite the bullet and make it work. The not-so-rational pregnant part of her was screaming for revenge for all her deceptions. So far, it was score one for pregnant mind and zero for rational. Not good.

"Dr. Banner," Steve greeted the nervous man which seemed to pull him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, yeah, hi," Banner said as he shook the hand that was offered to him. "They told me you'd be coming. They didn't say anything about you, Mrs. Stark," he said to JC.

One of the down sides to being a famous person's wife was that everyone knew exactly who you were. It made her wish for the old days when everyone assumed she was just a normal person. At least that was better than the new assumption that she was some kind of gold digger.

"Please, call me JC," she insisted as she shook the man's hand as well. "My husband is a consultant for S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm just here to represent him."

"Word is you can find the cube," Steve said.

"Is that the only word on me?" Banner asked, his comment obviously hinting to the Hulk.

"Only word I care about," Steve assured him. JC couldn't help but smirk. Maybe Carl was right about the guy after all.

"You all might want to step inside in a minute. It's gonna get a little hard to breathe," Natasha broke in.

Sounds of large machinery clanking and whirling to life could be heard below them as the water around them began to churn. JC turned to Carl with a quizzical look. He just grinned and gave a facetious wiggle of his brows.

"Is this a submarine?" Steve asked.

"Really? They want me in a submerged, pressurized, metal container?" Banner said sarcastically.

She knew there was no way the carrier could be a submarine. Unless the jets and other aircraft that were being tied down to the flight deck could take off from underwater, there was no way the ship was going down.

Rogers and Banner started making their way to the edge of the ship to look down at what was happening below. JC looked at Natasha who seemed to have a similar look on her face that Carl did. She moved with the other two men to look over the side. Rising from the side of the carrier was a set of propellers that had to be almost the same width as the flight deck. The three of them stood there in amazement as the blades chopped through the water and began to slowly lift the ship up.

"Oh, no, this is much worse," Banner said with a nervous smile.

JC turned to Carl with a cocked brow. "You remember that little joke I made about the ship growing wings and flying? That would have been the time to mention the ship was going to fly."

"But then I wouldn't get to enjoy this look on your face," he offered.

She wasn't amused.

"Get inside. Fury's waiting for you. I'll be around, if you need me," Carl said and went to follow the other attendants in getting an oxygen mask.

JC followed Natasha and the others inside as she led them to the bridge of the ship, which was impressive to say the least. Rows of manned stations flanked either side of the massive room with a walkway separating the two sides that led down from a circular platform with several see-through touch screens. In front of them was a panoramic view of the outside, which was little more than blue sky at that point. At the entrance of the room was a large shield shaped table that appeared to serve as a briefing area. As Darren would say, it was pretty cool.

"Mrs. Stark, it's a pleasure to see you, however unexpected," Fury greeted, though she knew there was little warmth in it.

"You can thank your Agent Coulson for making the arrangements," she said. She knew she was throwing him under the bus, but at this point, if she was going down, Phil was going down with her. Besides, this was payback for telling Carl about her being pregnant and her pickle craving. "You gave Tony the information to consult on. It was either him or me that was going to come, and we both know how he feels about team work."

He gave her a judgmental stare, but it wasn't disapproving.

"Very well, Mrs. Stark. I'll allow it, for now. See what help you can give Dr. Banner in locating the Teseract," he said.

"Where are you with that?" Banner asked.

Fury pointed to Coulson who was down one level working with several of the men on computers.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops, if it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us," Coulson reported.

JC watched as Natasha approached one of the screens and knelt down to look at the display. JC could just make out a picture of a blonde haired, blue eyed man that had the look of a man who knew how to kill. She recognized him as Agent Barton from the packet. He, along with Dr. Selvig, had been converted by Loki. Judging by the look on Natasha's face, this man was more than a colleague to her. Her poker face was good, but JC knew the look of worry one saved only for those a person cared for most. It was very subtle, but it was there.

"It's still not gonna find them in time," Natasha said when she looked up from the screen.

"You have to narrow your field," Banner started. "How many spectrometers do you have?"

"How many are there?" Fury said. Of course S.H.I.E.L.D. would have access to that many labs. The super secret types always had access.

"Call every lab you know. Tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm, basic cluster recognition. At least we can rule out a few places. You have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner and Mrs. Stark to the laboratory, please."

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys," she said with a smirk.

"Do you have the Commodore 64?" Banner asked.

JC had to fight hard to contain the smile and laughter that threatened to come out. It was worse when Natasha seemed oblivious to the fact that the Commodore 64 was essentially ancient in the eyes of a tech expert.

"I don't think we have that one," Natasha said with a confused look.

"Natalie, no one has a Commodore 64," JC said with a snide smirk.

"You actually know what that is?" Banner asked with a surprised smile.

"My family owned one was I was kid. The parents thought it was amazing at the time. And Tony couldn't help but brag how he took one apart as a kid and put it back together and made it better. Little show off," she muttered.

Banner got a good chuckle out of it while Natasha looked less than pleased. JC didn't care. It just meant one more opportunity to make the woman look bad, and she was enjoying every moment of it. She knew the red head would have more than enough time in the future to prove herself later.

* * *

**AN: Here's chapter two finally. I don't know when the next one will be finished, but it'll probably be around the same amount of time as this one, possibly less. Anyways, if you're liking the story so far, leave me a review and let me know what you think :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

It hadn't taken Bruce long to figure out why she was really there. When she proved that she only knew about half of the equipment and had refused to call her husband, it was a pretty dead giveaway that she hadn't been honest about her reasons for being there.

"You came here behind your husband's back, didn't you?" he asked with a knowing look.

"Pretty much," she admitted sheepishly from one of the workstations.

"I'm surprised Fury let you stay," he said as he fiddled with one of the see-through screens.

"Tony doesn't work well with teams. Coulson's probably the only one who will admit it, but I can keep Tony from completely tearing this thing apart before it has a chance to get off the ground."

"From what I hear, your husband is just a consultant, not actually part of the team."

"Take my advice on this, Bruce: never take a spy at his word. They're always working some kind of angle. Fury might not want him, but he needs Tony, and he knows it."

"If Nick Fury needs your husband so badly, why isn't he here?" Bruce challenged.

"Because asking for his help straight out would only stroke Tony's ego, and then he wouldn't come. The only way to get Tony to help is to make him believe it was his idea to come," she explained with a smug grin.

Bruce stopped what he was doing to peer over at her. "You sound like you've had quite a bit of practice at that," he observed with a small grin himself.

"Bruce, I am shocked and appalled that you think I would even consider manipulating my husband in such a manner," she said with feign sincerity.

"I thought it was a wife's prerogative to manipulate her husband?" he countered not fazed one bit by her performance.

"Well, I'd be lying if I said I _never_ used my abilities on him. I just try not to make it a regular habit," she amended with a grin.

"So why did you come without telling your husband?" Banner asked. "I've heard more than a few things about your reputation. You sound like you can take care of yourself."

She hadn't thought of a good answer for that. She knew that it was an assumption that she would keep Tony in line by anyone who knew or her husband personally. Sure, she was there under the guise that she was there to pass on information from Tony, but she was sure that Fury and Natasha knew the truth just as well as Coulson did: she was pregnant and Tony would never let her come. She hadn't considered how to explain her presence to some who didn't really know her well.

"Tony seems to be under the impression that since he's covered in a suit of armor he is more suitable for protecting the family. The need to treat me like a little damsel in distress comes along with that territory. He seems to forget most days that without me, he'd have been dead a long time ago," she lied. Well, it wasn't a total lie. Tony was under the impression that she was helpless. At least, that was how it seemed most of the time.

"How do you mean?"

"A year before we were captured in the desert by those terrorists, I was his bodyguard in Japan for a business deal. Things went south, and I had to save him. Never mind that he almost got me killed in his effort to 'help' me," she explained.

"And yet you wound up marrying the guy. How exactly does that work? I mean, most of the world saw what happened in Monaco. You two don't exactly come off as the ideal couple," he wondered.

"Tony and I," she said with a wistful grin. "We shouldn't work. There are so many times in the day where I just can't stand the man. He can be so arrogant and pig headed. But at the end of the day, he's the one who made me whole when even I didn't realize how broken I was."

Bruce had all but stopped what he was doing to listen to her. "What do you mean?" he asked.

"Let's just say things weren't a bed of roses before me and Tony seriously got together. I had been through war, lost a husband and my mother. I didn't trust anyone except my friend Carl, but he had been distant at the time. I didn't realize how alone I really was until after we got out of that cave, and it scared the hell out of me. I didn't make anything easy for Tony. I don't know what made him stubborn enough to want to stick around, but I'm glad he did. The stuff we've been through…it's been worth it to get to where we are."

She meant every word of it. Despite how angry she always was with Tony for all the stupid things he did, she knew she couldn't live without him in her life. He was one of the few people that knew her for what she was and loved her in spite of it. It had been him that stopped her nightmares, convinced her that her husband's death hadn't been her fault. She still carried some guilt from that day; that much would never change, but it wasn't the suffocating burden that it had once been. Tony had seen to that, and she was eternally grateful.

"I'm surprised. I thought it was just because you were pregnant," he said nonchalantly as he turned his focus back to his work.

JC's eyes went wide and her voice seemed to get stuck in her throat for a moment. How could he possibly know? It wasn't like Carl who had actually felt her abdomen or Fury who had been told. Did Coulson go spouting off to him? No, that wasn't possible. Coulson had been with Steve. Natasha? No, she had no reason to tell him on the flight here, and Banner hadn't been away from her since they had met on the flight deck. So how did he know? Or was it just some lucky guess or assumption? That's it. That's what it had to be. People who looked like a horrible couple usually only got married in a hurry because of a pregnancy. That had to be what he was thinking. Right?

"What?" she managed, her mind still floundering about for something else to say.

"Well, it's pretty obvious from your gait, and those shoes are more comfortable since the feet and ankles tend to have swelling. You've also got that glowing look mother's get. Your face is also a bit rounder than the last time I saw you on T.V."

"Are you saying my face is fat?" she said horrifically as she touched her cheeks. She didn't think it showed that much, but what if she was wrong?

"What? No, I didn't say that. And why are you acting so surprised? I thought everyone here knew about…Wait a second."

She eyed him warily as he seemed to come to the inevitable conclusion. "You didn't come here because Tony needs you. You're here because he would have said no. Oh, my God, does anyone else here even know that you're pregnant?" he exclaimed.

"Would you shut up and keep your voice down!" she hissed. "Yes, four other people know about it, but that's it. And that's how it's going to stay. Got it? I don't need this whole ship knowing about it. And how do you know about any of that stuff?"

"I'm a doctor. I notice things," he said sheepishly. "And other people are bound to figure it out, sooner or later."

"Yeah, well I prefer it later than sooner."

"Prefer what later?" a new voice asked from behind her. JC turned quickly to see Steve standing in the doorway.

"Nothing," she said quickly and turned back to Banner. "Doctor-patient confidentiality." She glared at Bruce hoping he got the message loud and clear.

"I don't think I even want to know now," Steve said with a light blush crossing his cheeks.

"No, Steve, you really don't," Banner assured him and quickly went back to his work.

"So what brings you down here to the boring science lab?" JC asked trying to switch topics.

"Coulson keeps staring at me. It's starting to get disturbing," he said uneasily.

"Oh, Coulson is harmless, Steve. He's just like one of those little fan girls that wants Justin Bieber's autograph. It'll pass," she assured him.

"Justin Bieber?"

JC sighed. Maybe getting stuck in an iceberg wasn't so bad. At least then you had no idea about all the stupid little dramas of pop culture. "Steve, just be happy you have no idea who he is. He's not worth it."

He shrugged it off and turned to Banner. "Where are you on finding the cube?"

"The algorithm's working, but it's going to take time. It's a big world out there with a lot of hiding places," Bruce said as he continued about his work.

"Come on, soldier boy," JC said when Steve looked uneasy about leaving again. Coulson must have been creepier than she gave him credit for. "I'll walk you back to the bridge. We can brave Coulson together."

He seemed grateful as she escorted him out the door. As for getting to the bridge, she had to rely on him. He at least seemed to know where he was going.

"If it's all right with you ma'am, I'm curious about something," he said as they walked.

"Please, don't call me 'ma'am'. You're making me feel old," she said lightheartedly. "Just call me JC."

"I'm sorry. It's just second nature," he said sheepishly.

"Don't worry about it. You had a question in there?"

"Yes. Why did you retire so soon? You seem more than capable to still be serving."

This was the one question she was hoping to avoid, but she'd answer him. He didn't seem like the judgmental type. Maybe he'd understand.

"PTSD doesn't care how old you are, Captain. I got into a bad situation, lost a lot of men. I tried, but I couldn't keep it together after that."

"What happened?"

She let out a hesitating breath before deciding to continue. "We were ambushed. There was no way out for us. A lot of men died on my watch, including my husband. I was in command at the time, which only made it worse. I thought I was over it, but sometimes something happens and I just snap, fall apart. I become…useless."

She didn't know why she was admitting it to Steve. Maybe it was the fact that he was a soldier, had been through war just as she had. He had probably seen worse things than her going against HYDRA agents. Either way, it felt comforting to talk about it with him.

Steve stopped and touched her shoulder. "You did everything you could. You can't keep blaming yourself for something out of your control."

"How do you know I did everything? How do you know there wasn't something else, some other way?" She knew he was right before she even said the words, but there was still guilt that she could never let go of, no matter how hard she tried.

"I've been in that situation before. Asking 'what if' for the rest of your life won't bring your men back. Believe me, I've tried."

She saw a familiar pain in his eyes. She had seen that same pain before in her own reflection years ago. But now she had Tony. He had taken that pain away for her, the worst of it anyway. She could only hope that Steve could find someone like that.

"I know. Tony keeps reminding me whenever I forget. He can be real annoying about it, too. It's one of his many talents."

"That and being a hot shot. How do you put up with him?" Steve asked as they started down the hall again.

Grateful for the change of subject she smirked and answered, "I know which buttons to push to keep him from being a complete idiot. There's a never a real guarantee with Tony, but the odds are more in my favor than other people. And don't believe everything you see on TV or read in the papers. He really is a nice guy, when you get to know him."

"Respectfully, I'll believe it when I see it."

She just grinned at him as they entered the bridge. She wouldn't have expected him to say anything less.

"Mrs. Stark," Coulson greeted, "Come to give a progress report in person?"

"Something like that," she said, leaning against the railing of the upper deck. "Let's chat."

Steve walked over to one of the consoles on the lower level to watch the progress of the face-trace as Coulson moved to stand by her. "Problem?"

"Only if you count scaring the Captain over there," she said in lower voice since they weren't afforded much privacy.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been staring at him with the goo goo fan face a little too intensely, Phil."

"He said that?" Phil asked as he stared at Steve with an almost hurt expression. Now she understood why Steve had been so uneasy; even she was getting a little creeped out.

"Okay, Phil, I'm gonna say this as nicely as I can. Put your big boy spy pants on and stop staring at him like a grazed fan girl. I know he's your idol, but a little more professionalism would be appreciated."

He gave her a droll stare and was about to say something when another agent piped up. "We got a hit, 67% match. Wait. Cross match. 79% match."

"Location?" Coulson said, snapping to attention.

"Stuttgart, Germany," the agent reported and spouted off the address. JC walked with Coulson to the agent to stare at the face of Loki on the screen. "He's not exactly hiding."

"Captain," Fury said from his command position. Steve turned to him. "You're up."

He nodded and started for the door.

"Hey, Cap," JC called after him. He paused a moment. "Good luck down there."

* * *

**AN: I know this one was really short compared to the last two, but I wanted to get an update out, and this one was just a pain in the butt for whatever reason. Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays, and expect an update around New Years. Happy Holidays!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"ETA is three minutes. You ready, Cap?"

Decked out in his updated uniform, JC found it difficult to take the captain seriously. It reminded her of the costume he'd worn in the old black-and-white films, which was silly at best. The service photo she'd seen of his original uniform actually looked functional, a bit spangly, but functional. This one was just plain spangly.

"Ready as I'll ever be, ma'am."

She couldn't put her finger on it, but there was something not completely convincing about his tone, though he was definitely making an impressive effort at it, like he was trying to convince himself, not just Widow.

Below her was Stuttgart and the gala where Loki had been spotted was coming into view.

"Looks like we're about to find out. Mr. Mischief down there has those people trapped. Open the hatch, get ready to drop," JC said over her shoulder.

Moments later the rear hatch was opening and Steve jumped out in time to deflect a shot from Loki.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down," Widow said into her earpiece which connected to a PA system. Loki's response was to turn his fire on them.

Carl expertly maneuvered the ship out of the way just in time to avoid the bolt of energy from Loki's staff.

"That was a little too close, Carl," she groaned as she righted herself.

"Contrary to popular belief, this isn't as easy as it looks."

"Guy's all over the place," Widow commented as she stared at one of the console screens. On it JC could see the fight between the Captain and demigod. Widow was right, which had confirmed a suspicion that she wished she'd never had. Seventy years in an ice cube had taken a toll on the Captain; and it showed.

"I hope you had a backup plan for this," JC said dryly.

Widow glared at her and looked like she was going to retort when Black Sabbath started coming through the speakers. A red warning sign flashed on the monitors that the PA system had been overridden. There was only one person that she knew that would do that. A wry smirk crossed JC's lips as Tony's voice invaded the comm. system.

"Agent Romanoff, miss me?"

Seconds later he came whooshing in with a repulsors blast to Loki's chest. With the demigod on the ground Tony stood over him, a multitude of weapons trained on him.

"Make your move, Reindeer Games," he challenged.

They all watched as Loki's appearance changed, his gold horns and accents on his clothing disappearing as his posture turned to supplication rather than offense.

"Good move."

JC wanted to give Widow a condescending smirk. It was her report that said Tony couldn't join the Avengers, yet here he was saving the day. There was only one problem: she wasn't supposed to be there. Being trapped in a small aircraft with literally no privacy for the venting that she was sure would come, this was going to be a lot worse than the way she had imagined it.

She looked to Carl who gave her a look that said, "Hope you're ready for it, 'cause you're on your own." She hoped so too, because the jet was landing and there was no more time to think of any good excuse that would placate her husband.

* * *

There were several things that Tony had expected when he left the house that day. First, he was going to run into Loki, a Norse legend that was more fact than legend. Second, he was going to piss off Nick Fury by barging in on his little playgroup. Third, he was going to meet Captain America, the one man his father had spoken incessantly about since the day he was born, which could be either a pleasant reunion or a thorn in his side. What wasn't on his list of expectations for the day was seeing his wife on a S.H.I.E.L.D. transport ship with a man he'd only met once, but heard plenty about, Carl Masters, a fellow Air Force member that was known to help JC in her work as a bodyguard. Now he was pissed.

"Hi, honey," JC said in as pleasant a tone as she could. By the look on her face, it was obvious that she knew she was in trouble.

"Phil is a dead man," he said menacingly as Loki was shoved to one of the seats.

"Who ever said this was Phil's idea?"

He wasn't surprised in the least. He knew Phil wouldn't be stupid enough to ask her to come, but he was just dumb enough, or fearful enough, to let JC bully him into letting her come.

"I figured it was yours," he said dryly. "He's a dead man, because he actually let you come."

"I didn't realize it was a boys only club."

He tried glaring at her through his mask, but it wasn't very effective. Quickly removing it, he scowled at her.

"You've got to be kidding me. Are you out of your damn mind?"

"No," she said coolly.

Remembering they were around strangers, Tony chose his next words carefully. If they had known she was pregnant, they wouldn't have brought her. That meant she still wanted it a secret, and as much as he would have liked to out her so that she would get sent home, he didn't want to give Loki any ammunition against him. There were still no guarantees of what he might do. Knowledge of a child would give him more than Tony was willing to share.

"This is too dangerous, JC. You're still sick, remember? You're in no condition to be here." He hoped she got the message loud and clear.

"A little cough never stopped me from doing my job before," she threw back with a stare that she had understood his meaning. He only hoped she hadn't meant what he thought she was saying. If she had done anything even remotely similar to this while she was pregnant with Darren, that worried him. A lot.

The best he could do was glower at her. How dare she endanger his child like this. Here he was thinking he had been the screw up for not telling her about the move to New York sooner, that he had pissed her off enough that she didn't want to be anywhere near him, when in reality she was gallivanting off trying to play hero. Any other time he might have thought it was sort of okay. Not this time.

"We are not done talking about this. And you," he growled, turning his attention on the pilot. "You are in just as much trouble for bringing her along."

"Like I had a choice. She threatened me," he defended as he pointed an accusing finger at her.

"That's a load of bull, Carl," she retorted.

He wasn't sure who was telling the truth, but he wouldn't put it past JC to threaten people to get her way. It wouldn't have been the first time she'd done it, and he was sure it wouldn't be the last.

"Wait a second. I thought she was your representative," Steve piped in.

Now Tony was floored. So far she'd bullied Phil, possibly threatened Carl, and now lied to Captain America and who knew who else. And she'd used the most horrible lie he'd ever heard of. Anyone who knew anything about her knew that she had never represented him in any way. Thus far, the good ol' captain wasn't earning many points.

"Oh, that's rich. Any other misconceptions you've got this guy sold on?"

"Can you two have your lover's quarrel some other time? We've got more important things to worry about right now," Natasha said from the cockpit.

Normally he'd agree with the spy. Who was he kidding? He rarely, if ever, agreed with the opinion of a S.H.I.E.L.D. secret agent, and Natasha was not one of his favorite agents. However, he knew when to shut his mouth. Sometimes.

"Agreed," JC said venomously before taking a seat behind Natasha at a computer station.

The whole thing made Tony want to just throw something. Too bad the only throwable object was his helmet. He didn't really feel like trying to fix it after tossing it around a few times, maybe even smashing intentionally. One of JC's tantrums just wasn't worth the trouble. Wanting to put as much distance as he could between him and his wife, which was laughable in the small vessel, Tony resigned himself to standing at the back of the aircraft with Captain Rogers.

"I don't like it," Steve said, momentarily pulling Tony from his thoughts.

Tony resisted the urge to cuss at the man. "Yeah, well, I don't much like being to lied to by my wife either," he said dryly.

"What? No, not that. Him," Steve corrected, nodding to Loki who had been sitting silently the whole flight. "I don't remember it being that easy. This guy packs a wallup."

"Well, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow." Tony couldn't help himself. If he had to be miserable on this flight, might as well get some enjoyment out of it. Steve just gave him a dry look. "What's your thing, pilates?"

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics," he explained. The Captain just gave him a blank look. "You might have missed a few things doing time as a Capsicle."

"Shut it, Tony. You're not funny."

He turned to glare at JC. What gave her the right to put him down? Before he could get out a retort thunder and lightning seemed to rattle the ship.

"Where's this coming from?" Romanoff said as she began checking her instruments.

"Flying us into a storm, Carl?" JC said.

"It wasn't me. This literally came out of nowhere. Never seen anything like it."

Another bolt of lightning flashed and thunder rumbled. But what interested Tony more was the fact that their demigod friend seemed startled by it.

"What's the matter? Scared of a little lightning?" Steve taunted.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows," Loki answered.

More thunder and lightning crashed before a loud thud sounded on the roof of the aircraft. All eyes turned upward.

"I'm gonna take a wild guess and say that wasn't a bird landing," JC said.

Tony gave her a sardonic look before grabbing his helmet and securing it on. If there was going to be a fight, he was ready for it. He half wanted one, if only to expel some of his anger at something other than his wife. Pulling the lever to open the hatch, he prepared himself for whatever was waiting outside.

"What are you doing?" Steve asked, his astonishment plain in his voice. Tony ignored him.

A man with a rather large hammer landed on the open hanger door, a furious expression on his face. Before Tony could think to react, the hammer was bashed against his chest, sending him flying on top of Steve before the stranger grabbed Loki by the throat and flew out of the airship.

"You two all right?" JC asked.

"Peachy," Tony muttered. "Now there's that guy."

"Another Asgardian?" Romanoff called out from her seat.

"He's a friendly?" Steve said, looking a bit unconvinced. Tony didn't blame him. If his estimation was correct, and it usually was, that was thunder god Thor, and based on what he knew, he wasn't exactly sunshine and rainbows where Loki was concerned.

"Doesn't matter. If he frees Loki or kills him, the teseract's lost," Tony ground out. There wasn't time for all their jabbering. If they were going to catch this guy, they needed to act. Now.

As he headed to the hatch Steve said, "Stark, we need a plan of attack."

Figures he'd want to play team captain. "I have a plan. Attack," he said, and jetted out of the aircraft after the hammer wielding god. "JARVIS, can you track him?"

"Working, sir."

"Tony, going in there half-cocked is only going to cause more problems," came JC's voice over his intercom.

"How did you get on this channel?"

"You're not the only one who can get JARVIS to do stuff for you."

Note to self, reprogram JARVIS to be less accommodating. "I'm the only one who can get there fast enough, JC. Mr. Stars and Stripes is a little bit slow on foot."

"Could you at least pretend to use some negotiating skills? We'll probably still need Thor if Loki decides to be uncooperative."

"No promises."

"Sir, I have a lock on his position," JARVIS piped in, his HUD lighting up the coordinates.

"Good boy," he said with a smirk. In seconds he could see the two figures come into view on a mountaintop. So far as he could tell, Loki was still alive and in one piece. That was one good thing. Step two, get Thor's attention. And what better way to do that than to ram into the god. Wrapping his arms around his waist, Tony picked Thor up and tackled him to the forest floor. When they finally pulled apart, Tony stood back and lifted his faceplate.

"Do not touch me again," the thunder god growled.

"Then don't take my stuff," Tony retorted.

"You have no idea what you're dealing with."

"Uh, Shakespeare in the park?" Tony replied smartly. "Doth Mother know you weareth her drapes?"

"Smooth diplomatic approach, Tony," JC said. "Try not to piss him off, would you?" Tony resisted the urge to make a snarky comment.

"This is beyond you, metal man. Loki will face Asgardian justice," Thor said.

"When he gives up the cube, he's all yours. Until then," Tony said and lowered his faceplate, "stay out of the way." Thor didn't make any move to retaliate. As Tony turned to get Loki he couldn't help but mutter, "Tourist." That was a big mistake. In a flash, Thor's hammer smashed into him, sending him through a tree before stopping several feet later.

"Told ya," JC said.

* * *

Though the fight had ended in a stalemate thanks to Mr. Rock of Ages, at least they were ledt with Loki still in their custody and now aboard Fury's helecarrier. While Loki was led to his cell and the others went to gather on the bridge, Tony was left in the hangar to remove and store his suit…with JC.

"I cannot honestly believe you went and did this behind my back," he seethed as he stepped into the machinery he'd had brought aboard for his armor.

"Oh, don't even pretend you have never done it to me before. Need I remind you of your decision to move us all to New York without even consulting me?"

"Okay, moving the family isn't dangerous. Coming aboard a flying airship with, as you've seen, very dangerous demigods is completely insane, especially with you being what you are, and you know exactly what I'm talking about."

"If I wasn't in my current condition, would you have let me come?"

"Of course not," he said when he was finally free of the suit. "Is that seriously what this about? Getting to play with the big boys? Maybe even getting the chance to harass Natasha?"

"Seriously? That's what you think this is about?"

"Isn't it?" he challenged. He knew his wife. She just couldn't resist a competition, a chance to prove she was just as good as everyone else, if not better.

"No, it isn't. And for your information, Phil asked me to come. He actually thinks I'm an asset, unlike some who think I'm just a helpless little girl in need of knight in shiny armor," she spat.

"I do not think that about you, JC."

"Yes, you do. Ever since you created your little tin can, with my support I might add, you think that you're so much better than me, that you're more capable than me. Newsflash: I've been doing this sort of thing a lot longer than you, Tony. I have been saving you from men like Loki for years. I don't need you babying me and treating me like some damsel."

"First off, Loki is not a terrorist with a gun that you can just throw some knives at and be done with him. He has killed nearly a hundred people in what, two days? If he gets near you and has the chance, he will try to kill you, or worse, turn you against me. If that were to happen…I don't know what I would do, JC. I'm not trying to belittle your abilities, but this guy is beyond anything we have ever gone up against. I just want our family safe. Can't you understand that?" he said, cupping her face in his hands.

"That's all I want, too," she said, taking his hands in hers. "But if you're going to be any help, you have to work with this team. I know you, Tony. You will try to fight tooth and nail for no other reason than to be annoying, and that is the last thing that is needed here."

He leaned his forehead against hers. He didn't want to argue with her, but for once, he knew in his gut that he was right. She shouldn't be here. But what could he do about it now? She would never willingly leave, not without a really good reason, and his fear for her safety didn't seem to be good enough. Phil was so dead for this.

"Fine," he conceded. "I won't say another word about it, but you have to promise me something. If things start to get bad, I mean totally FUBAR, I want you to find Carl and get the hell out of here. For once, please, don't try to play the hero. It's more than just you now, you know."

"I promise, if things do go FUBAR, I will get somewhere safe. But you have to promise to try make this thing work. That means playing nice with Steve," she said with a knowing smirk.

"Oh, we're on a first name basis with Cap, are we?"

"It's just a soldier thing," she reassured, giving him a peck on the lips. "Besides, he's not really my type. I prefer smartass jerks in tin cans," she flirted.

"Oh, yeah?" he replied, planting a solid kiss on her lips. "I think I can pull that off." He wrapped his arms around her holding her close as he continued to kiss her.

"We should get to the bridge," she said when she finally pulled herself away. "You've managed to crash the party. Might as well join the campfire time, come up with a next step."

"Let's go then."

* * *

**AN: Sorry for the long time between updates. I thought it was going to be done sooner, but between school and a little bit of writer's block, this one just got lost in the pile of stuff to do, but I promise I have not forgotten about this story!I will try to get the next one out a lot sooner, like next month. Thanks to those of you who have been patiently waiting and haven't completely given up on me. You guys are awesome!**


End file.
